The Gold Coast light rail project racks up more than one million project hours – equivalent to one person working 144 years without hurting themselves.

Track-laying, underground station, underground service upgrades and bridge works have contributed to a successful 2012 for the light rail project.

GoldLinQ CEO Phil Mumford said the milestones achieved this year included the first track laid, fit-out of the underground station started and work underway for the first elevated track across Smith Street.

“Reaching one million hours without lost time injury is a great milestone for a project of our size and we have a few million to go,” Mr Mumford said.

“Our workers, from managers and supervisors to underground services experts and traffic controllers are committed to safety.

“We have 30,000 cars drive past our worksites each week – that is 50 million cars in the same time we have reached one million project hours.

“Our top three priorities on the project are safety, safety and safety.

“This milestone is a testament to our commitment to both employees and sub-contractors as well as to the public we are working alongside each day.”

Mr Mumford said the project team was committed to the safety of every person on light rail work sites across the Gold Coast and the public.

“This is a milestone to be proud of with an experienced construction team proving they can work anywhere and maintain a safe working environment, including a construction area in the middle of a road network,” he said.

Mr Mumford said February marked 18 months since the Queensland Government awarded GoldLinQ the contract to design, build and operate the $1 billion Stage One of the Gold Coast light rail project.

“We are steadily growing our workforce and are hitting our target of 90 per cent local industry participation,” he said.